We have an energy challenge because there is a major transition in which we are moving away from fossil fuels towards a low-carbon economy and renewables. Obviously, that is difficult to do. I agree with Deputy Bríd Smith that we should have installed offshore wind infrastructure ten years ago. When I see the great offshore wind farms built by Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, I think that we should have built them also. We have a windy area around our country. We cannot go back in time, however. We ha…

The contract for the national broadband plan State-led intervention, which was signed with National Broadband Ireland in November 2019, is a comprehensive and detailed document. To protect the State investment and ensure that the national broadband plan milestones and deliverables are met, the contract has been designed to include extensive protections, quality checks, reporting and monitoring obligations. I am aware of recent commentary in relation to the national broadband plan contract, in particular with regard…

I cannot answer all those questions in one minute but I welcome the scrutiny and questions and the requests from the media for further information. I am delighted to answer any question asked to me directly. One of the stories that appeared last week had the headline, "How a hedge fund quietly took over the National Broadband Plan". The next day, 8 December, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald said in the Dáil that the majority shareholder of the consortium, National Broadband Ireland, is Oak Hill Advisors. Neither of those s…

I will be delighted to take part in any forum to share information about this. I absolutely believe in transparency. I have asked my officials how much more of the contract we can publish. A huge amount of the contract has been published. Some parts have been redacted. As I understand it, that is in line with the mandatory provisions of section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014. Insofar as it is possible, I have asked my officials to ascertain what they can do to expedite the process. The Deputy asked about…

The Government is committed to a just transition in the midlands region and has dedicated significant funding to supporting workers, companies and communities affected by the closure of the peat-fired power stations and the end of peat harvesting by Bord na Móna. As part of this commitment, the just transition commissioner was appointed in November 2019 with the mandate to engage with those affected by the accelerated exit from peat for electricity generation and to recommend to the Government the essential element…

Although the term of the commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, is not continuing, a just transition is being set up under legislation for next year. Kieran Mulvey is universally respected and his area of expertise is industrial relations. As the just transition continues, there will be a change of focus as to what is required to be the expertise or the focus of the commission. It was absolutely right that it was industrial relations to begin with. We intend to progress and develop proposals on the mandate on the statutory j…

I note the Deputy's comments and his passion. I commit that I will take his comments to the Minister and that he may contact my office or the Minister's office and I will reply. The ESB provided a €5 million contribution to the just transition fund in 2020 to support a just transition in the midlands. I understand that the ESB continues to explore the development of infrastructure in the midlands for use by local community groups. The just transition commissioner facilitated ongoing discussion with the ESB and key …

The Government is acutely aware of the impact the recent increases in energy prices are having on households. This is a global phenomenon. Expert commentators, including the International Energy Agency, have attributed it to a range of demand and supply factors that have contributed to a tightening of the European gas market supplies and the upward trend in wholesale gas prices we have witnessed since mid-2020. The best long-term approach for Ireland to insulate consumers from volatility on international wholesale …

I accept that we need to do more. We need to do everything that we possibly can. The Deputy spoke about petrol and diesel prices. I note the recent protest by the truck drivers. The fundamental problem here is that the international price of commodities holds us to ransom, and has done for decades. When the international price of gas or oil goes up, we cannot make that go away. We can try to chase the prices and give subsidies and so on, but we can never really overcome that. The price of a barrel of oil increased,…

In response to Deputy Griffin, I accept that we need flexibility. We are not taking a rigid ideological approach on this issue. It is important to think about our long-term future and what we will be doing in ten years' time, but we also need to think about what is happening next month and whether people can make their bills for that month. We must be open to that. I am willing to discuss the issue with the Deputy at any time. He is right that it is also a matter for the Minister for Finance. I will talk to him abo…

The CRU has statutory responsibility to ensure security of electricity supply. This includes the duty to monitor security of electricity supply and to take such measures as it considers necessary to protect security of supply. The CRU is assisted in its statutory role by EirGrid. The challenges to security of electricity supply are set out in EirGrid's All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2021-2030 and Winter Outlook 2021-22, which were published in September and October, respectively. In September, the CRU pub…

On the question of the current demand for electricity on a day like today, I do not believe that the demand for electricity alters with the wind. The typical energy peak demand is something like 6 GW or 7 GW. On a day when there is no wind, we are faced with challenges, because a lot of our energy comes from wind. We could get as little as 0% on a day when there is no wind. We also get renewable energy from other sources. For example, we have hydropower and so on. We get as much as 75% of our energy from wind on a …

On the question of what we are using for power on a day when there is no wind, principally, we are using gas. We also have coal from Moneypoint when it is functioning. We also have cables connecting us to the UK which provide us with electricity. We are building what is called the Celtic interconnector, which will be a connection directly to France that will provide us with an additional 700 MW. These interconnectors are huge. Each one is equivalent to a large power station. With regard to whether green hydrogen is…

The Government's policy statement on the importation of fracked gas was published in May of this year, fulfilling a commitment set out in the programme for Government. As set out in the policy statement, the placing of a legal prohibition on the importation of fracked gas in national legislation was being considered. However, in the context of European Union treaties and the laws governing the internal energy market, it is considered that a legal ban on the importation of fracked gas could not be put in place at th…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. As he understands, the problem with fracked gas is the fugitive emissions. Scientists discovered that in the process of fracking gas a lot of methane escapes into the atmosphere. This has a strongly detrimental effect which is so bad that using fracked gas turned out to be as bad as burning coal. I understand that for a long time in north Kerry there was a promise that this much-needed infrastructural investment and jobs were coming to the area. It is very difficult to have this…

The plan is to reduce gas consumption. Between now and 2030, the quantity of gas being used will be reduced. We will have a reducing need for imports of gas rather than an increasing need. This is one of the reasons LNG is not a good answer. LNG is a large, very heavy, long-term investment. For this reason, the Government policy statement does not use the word "fracked". The policy statement notes that pending the outcome of a review of the security of energy supply of Ireland's electricity and natural gas systems,…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 36 together. The national retrofit plan, published last month as part of the climate action plan, set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a building energy rating of B2 or carbon equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings by the end of 2030. These targets represent a significant increase in the volume and depth of retrofit activity in Ireland. The national retrofit plan is designed to address barriers to retrofit across four key areas. These…

I will start with Deputy Griffin. On wool insulation, I can say that I know absolutely nothing about that and I will get a proper answer for the Deputy. I will not attempt to answer that without knowing about it. Turning to Deputy Burke, this is a very significant plan for 500,000 homes and it requires 25,000 staff. A very significant amount of planning went into this even before the programme for Government was drawn up last year by the Green Party, the Government and the former Minister, Deputy Bruton’s Departmen…

I will start with Deputy Higgins's question on solar panels. It is envisaged that one portion of the funding is provided through a grant, and another portion, presumably the remainder, through a low-interest loan which is unsecured on the property. That is what the intention of that is and it is to be brought in in the middle of next year. There was also question on the roll-out and the rate of the delivery of these works. The funding for this increases every year because the money for it comes from the increases i…

I thank the Deputy. The Climate Action Plan 2021 commits to reducing emissions from the agriculture sector to 16-18 MtC02eq by 2030, a 22% to 30% reduction from 2018 levels. This will be achieved by committing to a set of core measures which will deliver a minimum level of carbon emission reductions and also by a set of other measures which will aim to go even further. My Department has engaged proactively with the public, stakeholders, and other Departments to deliver an ambitious, fair, and achievable climate act…